How do polyglots do it? (General discussion) Language Learning Forum

How do polyglots do it?
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Julie
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Message 129 of 159

10 January 2014 at 11:40pm | IP Logged

1e4e6 wrote:

But I recognise than Montréal is a specific case due to its bilingual status.

Exactly, I think switching depends a lot on a specific place and the typical communication patterns there.

I remember my trip to Gibraltar several years ago: when I spoke English, people would switch to Spanish, and when I spoke Spanish, they would switch to English. I guess they were just comfortable with speaking both languages, and they might have been used to communicate with English and Spanish natives mostly. Having heard a non-native accent, they would assume automatically I might speak the other language better - the same way the Dutch or Scandinavians might assume people are more comfortable speaking English than the respective 'smaller' language.

Edited by Julie on 10 January 2014 at 11:42pm
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josepablo
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Message 130 of 159

10 January 2014 at 11:49pm | IP Logged

luke wrote:

josepablo wrote:

luke wrote:

Polyglots do it all over the world.

What do you mean? Do what all over the world? Speak foreign languages with native accents?

It's a type of joke with a double-entendre/double meaning. The topic is perfect for this sort of joke.
Astronomers do it with stars.
Dancers do it with grace.
Donors do it for life.
Electrical engineers do it without shorts.
Pilots do it in the air.
Polyglots do it with their tongues.
Teachers do it with class.

All those examples make sense, but I'm afraid your "polyglots do it all over the world" missed the point. Totally. No point, no joke!
"Polyglots do it with their tongues" would have been okay, though not really relevant to this topic. Better luck next time!
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Fuenf_Katzen
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Message 131 of 159

10 January 2014 at 11:50pm | IP Logged

I go back and forth with this all the time, because on the one hand I will realistically continue living in an English speaking country with a primarily English speaking job, so there isn't much of a "point" in pretending to be native in any of my languages. My goal is more to sound generally "non-native" rather than "English speaker," or even worse, "American." I usually do apologize for my accent, although the last time I spoke German, I said nothing about my accent and nobody even commented on my ability or level; we just spoke in the language. So maybe the accent issue is something I've made into a bigger issue than it actually is.

For whatever it's worth, I've only met one person who actually would have fooled me with English. She's a Bulgarian violinist who not only speaks without an accent, but also uses the correct prepositions and the intonation/prosody of English is also how Americans will speak. I don't know that it was a deliberate effort, but we hadn't seen each other for about 2 years and there was a noticeable difference in accent during that time.
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1e4e6
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Message 132 of 159

10 January 2014 at 11:54pm | IP Logged

Cavesa wrote:

I was mistaken for a native from another country, so my French accent obviously isn't
bad. On the other hand, I had as well people switch to English automatically. I think
part of the reason is your attitude. If you look confident, people trust you can
communicate in the language. If you don't look confident, they try to be helpful and
switch into the ugly English no matter whether or not you look to be anglophone. They
naively don't think you could speak another language (even a large one) and not English
even though I know a lot of such exemples. And they naively don't think you could speak
their language much much better than they speak English (which has been true about 99%
of the French switching to English with me so far).

That is probably another factor, but that is difficult for some people, i.e. I am very
introverted in any language, even my native English, that I am soft-spoken, try to not
attract attention, and I generally look unconfident even in an Anglophone country to
approach anyone to talk. But still, one advantage of not being an Anglophone is that
whether one looks confident or not, switching to English shall be unfruitful if the
foreign speaker does not speak English. So the two are both stuck with the country's
language anyway.

Also, I have not heard you speak before, but based on the writing, you could pass for a
native Anglophone.
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patrickwilken
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Message 133 of 159

10 January 2014 at 11:57pm | IP Logged

Switching

Expats in Berlin always complain about people switching to English when they try to talk German.

My experience has been that as my German has become better the rate of switching had dropped dramatically, and I am only a weak B2 for speaking at best. When people switch I just say, in German, that I live in Germany and must learn German and would they mind if we kept talking in German and refuse to speak English. When I do this they 99% are happy to keep talking German. If I about to have a longer conversation (say at the bank or at the doctor) I start the conversation by apologizing for my bad German, and people invariably reply by saying that their English is not good either, and then we invariably end up conversing solely in German, and everyone is happy.

------------
Accents in English

I am not sure that English speakers are always so accommodating to other English accents. When I first moved to LA from Melbourne, I had the weird experience of not being understood ordering coffee at Starbucks. I would say something like "I'd like a COUGH-FEE" multiple times and they would be like "???" I quickly learned to say "CAAW-FEE" (sorry the phonetics aren't very accurate).

Also I had never realized how soft the R is in Australian English compared to American English. This proved difficult across the USA when trying to buy "Beer" (more like BE-A in Australian English) or when I wanted to get an iron in a hotel room for a shirt (ION in Australian English). Then I tried to be understood I would inevitably over compensate and sound like the Johny Depp the Pirate.

What was striking to me was that people couldn't compensate for my accent leading to complete failure to understand what I was saying even when asking for a coffee in Starbucks or where the beer was in a supermarket. So while I think the ideal of having a perfect accent is overstated, it's surprising how something as simple as a soft-R can lead to significant problems.

Edited by patrickwilken on 11 January 2014 at 12:28am
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1e4e6
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Message 134 of 159

10 January 2014 at 11:59pm | IP Logged

josepablo wrote:

luke wrote:

josepablo wrote:

luke wrote:

Polyglots do it all over
the world.

What do you mean? Do what all over the world? Speak foreign languages with native
accents?

It's a type of joke with a double-entendre/double meaning. The topic is perfect for
this sort of joke.
Astronomers do it with stars.
Dancers do it with grace.
Donors do it for life.
Electrical engineers do it without shorts.
Pilots do it in the air.
Polyglots do it with their tongues.
Teachers do it with class.

All those examples make sense, but I'm afraid your "polyglots do it all over the world"
missed the point. Totally. No point, no joke!
"Polyglots do it with their tongues" would have been okay, though not really relevant
to this topic. Better luck next time!

I have a feeling that that "tongue" joke is a bit grotesque, because it has double
entendre and the other meaning has a very different meaning, because they speak with
their tongues, but also do something else with their tongues. Or perhaps I am
overanalysing...

Edited by 1e4e6 on 11 January 2014 at 12:00am
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culebrilla
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Message 135 of 159

11 January 2014 at 12:21am | IP Logged

Hekje wrote:

1e4e6 wrote:

However, in the UK, USA, Australia, etc., I have never seen one of the local Anglophones switch to
the language of the non-native speaker with a strong accent. They simply communicate slowly and with difficulty no
matter how much it may be, always staying in English. But this does not happen for Anglophones with a strong
accent or making mistakes in, e.g. Swedish or Norwegian.

Most Americans simply don't speak the native languages of the immigrants they encounter. They don't switch
because they can't switch. On the other hand, English is widespread in Scandinavia, so Scandinavians sometimes
switch. It has nothing to do with patience and everything to do with what someone can or can't do.

It's also not the worst thing in the world if somebody switches to English. You can always ask them to switch back.

Even in parts of the US where there are many Spanish speakers like Southern California, I always feel kind of embarrassed speaking Spanish to latinos. Outside of language exchanges online, in person, or paid conversations, I don't speak much Spanish. I saw a Spanish-speaking patient somewhat recently and did the interview in English because I thought that it might be insulting to the person's English level to switch languages. However, after multiple attempts at trying to get the information in English I just went back into the exam room and started speaking Spanish to get the needed information. (something like, "sorry, I was going to speak to you in Spanish but thought it might be offensive. There were a few things I didn't understand...") But you are right, a lot of NATIVE-BORN Americans just can't speak another language.
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beano
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Message 136 of 159

11 January 2014 at 12:41am | IP Logged

patrickwilken wrote:

Switching

Expats in Berlin always complain about people switching to English when they try to talk German.

Although in some cases this will be a convenient excuse to hide behind. "I've tried speaking German but they
always come back in English" or the other old chestnut "they are all desperate to practise their English"

I must say I don't find that Berliners in general are highly skilled at English. None of my wife's family who live
there can speak anything more than a few words. Most of the city was behind the wall for decades. I'm sure
things are different in the tourist areas, the academic scene, the trendy artistic crowd and the burgeoning IT
start-up market, but among the general population I would say English skills are pretty weak in comparison to
other areas of Germany. Certainly among the over-35s I think the chances are that people would far rather
speak German with outsiders than English.

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